Iconoclasm
by Kami No Tsurugi Kusanagi
Summary: Life gives you the cruelest choices. To which do you decide? The person whom you hold dear or the people that gave you a life when you were left to die? Open the door to the forbidden abyss and live your life to the fullest. With each small rebellion, the world will change. IS x VP: THREE-SHOT
1. The Cruelest Things

**Iconoclasm**

**The Cruelest Things**

* * *

"_Is this distant shadow a prophetic dream? Is it a nightmare?  
Whispers of grief are woven in the sky."_

_-Ao-Iconoclast_

* * *

_For this child is cursed to a wretched fate…_

* * *

_**T**__he_ wind's deathly whisper danced across the solemn graveyard, the austere grey tombstones somber and stark. In the night's royal purple sky, the cold moon shone, its platinum light beams illuminating the clearing in a melancholic glow of muted colors.

With an impassive expression, Elsword knelt before an unadorned tombstone. His natty locks of vermillion fall nonchalantly across his crimson left eye, obscuring the ebon eye patch he donned to hide the injury he received four months ago during the rebellion, where his best friend- Raven gouged out his eye.

"I think… you were such an idiot… why did you do that Raven? You're lucky they didn't burn your body after your death…"

As he muttered the words, he shuddered. To even talk of such things was an ill omen. The burning of one's body denied a person passage to the afterlife and left their soul to wander forever on the face of Elrios, it was a horrible fate reserved only to the worst of criminals.

A criminal was exactly what Raven was however. After the execution of Seris- Raven's fiancée, he had went on a rampage, raising a rebellion against the Praetorian Guard, a fatal mistake and for such a petty reason too, as Seris was not the innocent saint that Raven had imagined her to be. She had opened the _Abyssal Door_ and released her _Dark Side_- a malignant parasite born of chaos, leeching the life out of its host, but in the most part, restrained by the power of the _Abyssal Door_. Very few humans had the strength to be a host to a _Dark Side _and those who did were put under stringent surveillance by the Praetorian Guard. They were dangerous, the _Dark Side _was powerful and unstable; a human possessed by a _Dark Side _was a menace to everyone- friend or foe. Seris needed to be executed, a very gruesome and gut-wrenching task Elsword had been required to do himself.

Elsword grimaced and stood up. He would never forget the day when Raven rebelled, attacked him, and swore obscenities at him. Did he think that Elsword liked his job as an executioner, a spy, and an assassin? Did he truly believe that Elsword enjoyed killing? For what other option did he have? He was a rape-child, left to die in the city slums and shunned for his scarlet eyes- regarded by society as a symbol of portending doom. People were terrified of him, even when he was very young and they abused him, spitting on him, calling him one of the _Possessed_, and attacking him even. When he was just six, Elsword received a large gash in his back from when a besotted drunkard slashed his back open with a shard of glass, leaving a vehement red scar that did not fade in the ten years since that incident.

He had no choice when the Praetorian Guard plucked him off the streets, giving him a home and a purpose in life. In the true custom of the Guard's philosophy of equivalent exchange, Elsword was required to give his life in exchange for his life.

His loyalty for his protection.

Truly a Faustian bargain, but what choice did Elsword have but to accept it back then?

_If Raven couldn't understand then he was never my friend to begin with_, Elsword told himself. Still the fervent hatefulness he remembered in his former friend's face stung him. The redhead let out a cantankerous snort and tugged on his bangs, casting a black look at the tombstone as he did so.

_My life was destined to suck either way…_

"I should really go back and see how Aisha is doing…" He mumbled bitterly and turned away from the tombstone, feeling the caustic glare that Raven's amber eyes gave him even from the beyond.

* * *

Aisha Baskerville was a wiry, childish, and opinionated girl of eighteen years- entrusted to Elsword for observation because she possessed the _Abyssal Door _and by proxy, a _Dark Side_. With a boyish figure and a severe lack of height, Elsword found it very difficult to accept she was two years his senior, a feeling furthered by the fact he was an elite member of the Zero Squadron of the Praetorian Guard and she, the daughter of the owner of an antique store which specialized in the peddling of exotic spices, perfumes, and nonsensical dogma dealing with the arcane such as tarot cards and crystal balls. She possessed a fiery countenance, any spat Elsword had with her always left him burned, feeling frustrated and having the strong urge to shatter a few windows. Never before, even in the more renowned units of the Praetorian Guard did he know anyone with Aisha's stockade of witty repartees and her razor-sharp intelligence.

Still, despite all her foibles and quirks, he enjoyed spending time with her when he wasn't feeling the mighty urge to strangle the brat. She challenged him, made him think, and amused him.

It was such a shame that he would more than likely have to kill her one of these days, and she would never know why… because he was forbidden from telling her, lest she might run away.

* * *

"Oi! Els… Where were you? I'm famished!" Aisha leapt out of the squashy armchair she had been lounging in, practically pouncing on Elsword as he entered his apartment. "Hey! Don't- No!" Elsword cried and sprang to the side in order to avoid the blur of violet that hurtled itself at him with the speed of a bullet train. Aisha stumbled, regaining her footing, and turned towards Elsword, her amethyst orbs tapered, revealing her vexation.

"Ok… seriously Elderp, where did you disappear to? It was a hundred years since you left work… Your boss is rotting in his grave while his little shitheaded grandkids are running Rurensia." Aisha drawled, placing her hands on her hips and cantering them sassily. Elsword rolled his eyes, "Oh? Then why aren't you in your grave?" He retorted dourly and pressed his lips into a thin line. Aisha snickered and flipped her spiky lavender twin tails. "I did die from starvation… What you're seeing now is a ghost." Elsword chortled softly and poked her forehead. "Hey!" The purplenette yelped and clasped her hands over the spot where Elsword prodded her.

"Hmm… You're an awfully corporeal ghost… Why didn't you just heat something up for yourself in the microwave? I do trust you could manage that without blowing the apartment up." Elsword remarked airily, plopping down on the maroon beanbag chair which was pressed up against the off-white walls. Aisha sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I did try that… but I burned the pizza." She replied offhandedly and slinked down on the armchair diagonally positioned from where Elsword was sitting. The redhead cocked a dubious eyebrow at the purplenette. "How do you burn something in the microwave?"

Aisha snorted and crossed her legs, sticking her nose up in the air with an affronted dignity. "You're not one to judge… sure, you can work a microwave but nothing else. Why if it wasn't for Mrs. Hana, we would both starve!" She snipped. Elsword smirked and folded his arms, "You didn't answer my question~!" Aisha slumped down, exhibiting appalling posture, but she did not respond to Elsword's taunt.

"But where were you? Seriously… I'm curious…" Aisha queried, pursing her lips together into a contemplative visage. Elsword stared at her for a fleeting moment before hastily averting his gaze so she could not see his frown. "I was just visiting a friend's grave…" He trailed softly, tugging absentmindedly on the stainless steel sword ornament that hung from a dexterously crafted chain of silver slung around his neck.

"Raven's?" Aisha probed. Elsword sharply drew in his breath before releasing it in a noisy sigh. "Yeah… How'd you guess?" The purplenette shrugged and straightened herself, sitting upright. "You never really had many friends… And most of them are still alive save for Raven." Elsword nodded glumly and sucked in his cheeks. "He decided to be stupid… it's his own fault." He replied acrimoniously and bit his bottom lip.

"Hue… People are stupid all the time. You still miss him though." Aisha stated sagely. Elsword flashed her a mirthless smile and rubbed his forehead. "Che… Should I go heat up some stuff in the microwave then?" He enquired, deliberately changing the topic. Aisha noticed this, but she let it slide, nodding her head "yes". "Of course, Elderp!" The redhead rolled his eyes, pretending to be exasperated with Aisha and stuck his tongue out in a puerile gesture. "Keep that up and you shall be sent to bed without desert!" He teased. Aisha sneered at him with an expression of utmost wickedness. "Oh ho ho? Really? You forget that I'm older!"

Elsword snickered impishly. "And you forget who has the authority here." He refuted playfully. The purplenette huffed and jammed her chin into her chest. "Why is that anyways? Why would the 'almighty' Praetorian Guard be interested in a lowly commoner like me, even if the commoner's mother might've been selling some particularly shady wares?" Her tenor was light and mocking enough, but the question made Elsword balk. "I don't know," he lied with a shrug of his shoulders, "I'm just supposed to babysit you." Aisha rolled her eyes and tugged on the violaceous sleeve of her rather scant outfit. "Hue…"

"Anyways… I'm just going to get the dinner and we can talk more when we have some food in our stomachs… I'm feeling rather peckish myself." Aisha bared her teeth at Elsword's abrupt change of topic, but she let it slide. The purplenette had a rather uncomfortable feeling about why she was required to stay with Elsword, even though he was nice (if not, a little exasperating) enough. She didn't press him too hard… She had her own secrets…

Her throat became rather dry as she recalled the nightmares that continuously plagued her.

* * *

_There was a corridor, dark as night and at the end of the blackness was a battered wooden door with mysterious golden insignias etched on it, glowing softly from within with their own esoteric radiance. _

_The door… it was always rattling, muffling the pathetic mewling that came from behind it, sounding like the wailing of a newborn babe abandoned by its mother_.

* * *

A chill zapped its way up Aisha's spine as she recalled the crying, her cheeks flushed with humiliation. She was terrified of those cries; they drove her insane just listening to them. Why should she, an eighteen year old who was well-accustomed to surviving in the rougher parts of Rurensia's capital- Velder, be frightened of a baby's pathetic sobbing? It was mortifying… But she hesitated. In her dreams she had never grasped the door knob and flung the door open, releasing whatever horror was trapped behind it… at least not until last night.

She couldn't take the screaming anymore, she had to open the door or she would be driven insane by the incessant sniveling. Aisha did not recall whatever occurred afterwards, just that there was a rush of ecstasy-inducing energy enveloping her, seeping into her very soul before passing out and waking up inside her own bed.

Elsword came back into the living room, baring a tray of reheated leftovers. The sweet, somewhat sour aroma of orange chicken mixed with the redolence of jasmine rice, pervading the room and making the purplenette's stomach rumble. Seeing Aisha's apprehensive mien, Elsword set a plate down on the weathered wooden coffee table in front of her. "What's up? You look a bit pale, even paler than normal I mean."

Aisha hesitated, biting her bottom lip before blurting out- "I was thinking of a dream I had last night." Elsword's breath caught in his throat. _Could she of-? No… She wouldn't be sane by now if she had… _

"Oh? Can you tell me what was it about?" Elsword inquired, exerting a strenuous amount of effort to keep his voice steady and his tone relaxed. Aisha picked at her food, popping a couple pieces of chicken into her mouth before replying, "It was a variation of this dream I kept having, there was this corridor-"

Elsword's stomach dropped before tying itself into a thousand slithery knots.

"From behind the door, there was this most pathetic and awful crying, like that of a baby's. I couldn't stand it, but up until last night I never had opened it." She continued, her lips turned downwards in a worried line. "I just lost it last night and flung it open… That's all really, but still… I feel very disturb- Hmm? Something the matter? You're looking like a corpse." Aisha crinkled her brow and gazed at Elsword, looking concerned. The redhead stared down at his plate, his eyes wide with horror and his skin paling considerably. He felt like he was about to hurl.

Rapidly, he shot up, knocking his food-laden plate onto the floor and spilling everywhere. "El-Elsword?!" Aisha yelped, springing to her feet, her eyes wide and startled. "I'm… Go-gonna…" Elsword gasped and heaved. He collapsed to the ground, face first, feeling shivery, stunned, and humiliated and pathetic.

Why was he going into pieces over the fact he was going to have to kill Aisha once he reported this to his boss? He had killed several people before… Seris… Raven… So why should he get so sick and torn up over the fact he knew that he would have to murder this girl with his own two hands? He did it to countless others.

"Oh my El! Elsword!" Aisha yelped and wrapped her arms around his waist, hefting him upwards onto the armchair. "Gross… you got puke on your face…" Aisha muttered and shook her head. "Tch… doesn't matter anyways… I'm going to get a washcloth and wipe it off." She muttered distractedly to herself, pressing her fingers against Elsword's neck, checking his pulse. She ran out of the room, and hastily got a white terrycloth towel from the bathroom drawer and ran cold water from the sink, wringing it out after it was nice and soaked.

She darted back into the living room and wiped down Elsword's face, chewing her bottom lip and muttering incomprehensible phrases under her breath.

_Her eyes… they're such a pretty shade of violet… _

Elsword mused morbidly to himself, the corners of his lips twitched upwards in a grim smirk. "Do you feel feverish at all?" Aisha questioned, sounding a little frantic. Elsword chortled darkly and shook his head. "No… I'll be fine…" He replied. Aisha exhaled noisily and clucked her tongue. "Still… Take it easy…" She chastised tenderly and brushed Elsword's bangs out of his eyes. "You have such a bad tendency to push yourself too hard and then you wind up out of work and sick for a week. This isn't the first time you said you're fine and then I let you go on your merry way and then you come back a wreck." Aisha stated, sounding stern.

Elsword gave Aisha the mocking ghost of a smile and rubbed his forehead. "You have such a brilliant way of parroting back old events as if they were breaking news." Aisha waved her hand dismissively. "Oh shut yer' pie hole… I'm trying to help you!" She snipped, put out. The redhead shook his head folding his arms, drawing them in close. "Thanks…" He mumbled. Aisha's eyes widened into the size of cantaloupes. "Ok… now I know you're sick…"

Elsword rolled his eyes, "Whatever…" He replied in a sardonic sing-song manner. The redhead was rewarded for his flippancy by Aisha lightly cuffing him on his collarbone. "Stuff it." She demanded and bit the inside of her cheeks. "Ah… I'll just get the broom and mop and clean your mess up." The purplenette said aloud. Elsword sighed and leaned his head back. "You do that."

Aisha left the room once again, leaving Elsword alone. The redhead shuddered and drew his legs up, resting his chin on his knees, feeling the metal armor plating them digging into his skin.

This was going to be unbearable because in the five months Aisha had lived with him he grew used to her company. She broke the silence and reminded Elsword that he was still a person and she took care of him, despite all her gripes.

Sure she was as faulted as a mine shaft knowing a little _too _much about various plants that could kill somebody and having an unhealthy obsession with the occult and horror novels, but so was Elsword… in most ways, he was even more flawed and irreparably messed up than Aisha. Actually, the only thing he had going for him in terms of being "normal" was that he did not possess an _Abyssal Door_.

It seemed downright cruel to him.

The first person who didn't curse him out for having red eyes and being a member of the Zero Squadron, and he would have to kill her.

Why did he so stupidly allow himself to get attached? That was rule number one about being a member of the Zero Squadron: _don't _get attached to anyone, and Elsword knew he broke it big time. He had cared for her, secretly wanted her, but always repressing his feelings, or so he thought. Now Elsword realized how stupid he was and how futile his attempts to not get close were. He was going to be required to kill Aisha because he had been given his life by the Praetorian Guard in exchange for his unwavering loyalty, but Elsword recognized the fact that if he did so, he would utterly destroy himself. It would tear him apart even more than it did to execute anyone else, even more so than Raven, because Elsword had never loved anyone else.

The redhead unfolded his arms, raising a hand and holding it out as if reaching for something precious and unobtainable. To Elsword's fevered mind, it appeared to be covered in the scarlet color of blood.

* * *

A young woman with a svelte build and sinuous locks of stygian black adorned with adroitly wrought golden ornaments stood in the deserted city square. Clad in a night-black dress with golden accents and a mantle of sable covering her shoulders, she is a regal figure, poised and graceful. Her round but keen eyes of honeyed yellows survey the stone buildings, lingering a little to gaze contemptuously at a venerable marble statue of a famed and decorated war hero belonging to the _Imperia Gladius- _the elite knights of the Praetorian Guard. Surrounding the statue was a crown of colorful flowers, the salacious blossoms whispering giddily to each other in the breezy night.

A wry smile touches the figure's lips and she walks over to them, affectionately caressing the white petals of a lily-of-the-valley. "How ironic, they choose such beautiful things to liven up the statues of the brutal fanatics who fervidly enforce their ugly policies of hate and oppression."

A soft chuckle escapes her lips.

"Ah… but no matter how hard they try, they will never completely control everything. For that they hate us, but we shall persevere and we will destroy them. Not in such a way that one poor fool did, the Praetorian Guard is far too strong for such flamboyant recklessness. No… we will have others live our lives so it opposes their so-called 'order' and 'justice'. To topple the Praetorian Guard, we shall teach the world to adhere to the standards of freedom and mercy. The Praetorian Guard can crush all rebellions, save for individual rebellions. Choose to live your life, don't let them brainwash you into their black-and-white view of the world, question things that don't feel right. Those are the small rebellions that will eventually change the world."

* * *

**Happy Valentine's Day People Who I can't see from behind the computer monitor! To celebrate this pink and candy overload holiday, I present to you the story of an IS x VP one-shot mentioned briefly at the end of a new story became through over-ambition and the authoress's laziness a two-shot. I'm sorry; I just can't write good one-shots for the life of me. So take a two-shot! I've been noticing so many IS x DWs, IS x Ems, RS x Ems, but only about 1 (Not counting my Yami No Tsurugi and potentially Rosamenelle's super-awesome Giga Theorum, which you need to check out) IS x VP being actively published and written… I must ask to all writers, why? So… I shall lead the IS x VP revolution! Starting with this two-shot! :DDD IS x VP is such a lovely pairing and we need more of it! :3 This story ish so complicated for a two-shot though, let's hope I'm able to prevent it from becoming a three-shot. Still… I must say, this story can have either a happy ending or it can end on a tragic note… You decide! :D I also toned down my OP vocab, just for now and I got a little lazy with my OP descriptions so they're UP. I hope it isn't terrible though… Next up is Yami No Tsurugi! Be expecting an embarrassing nickname for the Kenny of the story- Aren to be popping up that may or may not be a direct reference to Harry Potter O3O. **

**So now… I ask again… Good ending or Bad ending? **


	2. Sad and Hateful

**Iconoclasm**

**Sad and Hateful**

* * *

"_And you won't understand the cause of your grief_

_But you'll always follow the voices beneath…"_

_-Mordred's Lullaby_

* * *

_The Next Day…_

* * *

_**A**__methyst_ eyes, cold as the rime coating a metal pole on the winter solstice stared straight into Elsword's vermillion orb. Black-gloved fingers drummed testily on the varnished mahogany surface of the desk as Major Add of the Zero Squadron contemplated the almost childish figure of the redhead. Elsword pressed his lips into a thin line, struggling to keep his visage impassive in the presence of his superior. Standing next to the snowy-haired major was a dignified woman with sinuous alabaster tresses and keen saffron eyes; she was as beautiful as a statue, and half as inviting.

"You say that your charge- Aisha Baskerville opened the _Abyssal Door_?" The major enquired his insane violet eyes half-lidded with detachment. Elsword dipped his head into a curt bow, his untidy crimson bangs concealing his facial expression. "I think she did so Major, she did mention something about the locked corridor and she did admit to me last night that she had opened it." He replied, each words slow and deliberate to prevent it from cracking. He had to do this. Elsword knew this day would come from the very beginning. Not for the first time in the last eighteen hours, Elsword cursed himself mentally for getting attached to a doomed woman.

"In other words, yes." Add snapped in a peeved tone, hoisting his brutal jaw line straight up in the air. The sunlight streaming in from the cavernous arched window made the stainless steel shoulder plate Add donned gleam with a wicked light, causing the young man to squint as the white light radiating from Add's shoulder armor glared at him. "…" Elsword mumbled an unintelligible phrase and lowered his head, staring straight into his lap. "You look up at the Major when in his presence." Eve- the icy-mannered lady chided, narrowing her golden eyes. Elsword frowned petulantly but quickly dropped it. Heaving an irritated sigh, he directed his gaze back up to Add.

"Well, we knew this day was coming. If I had my way, I would just kill the lot of them before they ever got a chance to open the _Abyssal Door_." Add drawled indolently and leaned back in his ebon leather chair, propping his feet up on the desk. A sharp scalding needle of anger stabbed itself in Elsword's mind. The redhead bit his tongue to prevent the scathing retort he wanted to fling at the arrogant Major from leaping off the tip of his tongue. "Your hands are shaking… but from what?" Eve remarked dispassionately, crossing her arms.

"Are you upset?" Add jeered, sneering spitefully at Elsword. A muscle in the redhead's jaw twitched but he gently shook his head. "No, I am just fine." He managed to spit out from between clenched teeth. The Major smirked and folded his hands, "Good… I don't want to have one of my best Lieutenants getting all sentimental over some whiny brat who's teetering on the edge of insanity, about to snap and go bat shit crazy."

Elsword gripped the edge of his seat, his knuckles turning a bone-white. "Maybe she doesn't need to be killed," he blurted out before he could think. Add froze before his already-pugnacious features shifted, becoming even more brutal and cruel. "What did you say?" He snarled his upper curling upwards in disgust. The redhead grimaced and stared downwards at his faint reflection in the polished marble tiles. Slowly he opened his mouth and spoke his thoughts.

"She had that dream the night before; all recorded cases had the host to a _Dark Side _going insane in a ten hour span of opening the _Abyssal Door_. Aisha Baskerville has not shown any indications of mental instability, so perhaps we are being irrational in saying that she needs to be executed Major." There was a taut moment of silence, then much to Elsword's dismayed surprise…

Add _laughed_.

"Ha! That's the best joke I've heard out of you since you first came here! Hue…" The Major chortled and wiped his brow, the corners of his mouth turned up in an ear to ear grin. Elsword raised his eyebrows, "I wasn't joking Major." He replied peevishly. That stopped Add's jeering laughter.

"You better be, or else you will wind up like your friend Raven." Add growled, his features swinging from mocking to ferociously malignant in a fluttering heartbeat. Elsword scowled, "Was that a threat Major?" Eve coughed lightly and tapered her eyes.

"It was not a threat First Lieutenant Elsword. It was a promise that will be fulfilled unless you bring in Aisha Baskerville tomorrow for her execution." The redhead snorted but dipped his head down deferentially. "Do you understand those orders, Lieutenant?" The silverette added, looking freezing daggers at Elsword. The svelte young man nodded and ran his left hand through his bangs. "I understand, Captain Eve." He replied sourly, the resentment in his pale face seeping through despite his attempts to mask it. Eve deadpanned and held her head up, self-righteous and haughty. Add snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

"If Eve made it clear to you your position, then you are dismissed, there are no further tasks for you to accomplish here."

Elsword let out an inaudible sigh of relief and stood up, dusting his sleek jet-black slacks as he did so. "Thank you Major, I shall see you tomorrow at nine o'clock." Add nodded complacently and made a "shoo" motion at the door. "Good, now leave." Elsword bowed respectfully and walked out the door, the heels of his boots clacking against the marble tiles and echoing off the walls.

Once he had closed the door behind him with a whispery _cla-chick_, the redhead mimed brutally stabbing both the Major and his callous cohort- Captain Eve. Even on a good day before all this shit had occurred, he abhorred the people that the Marshall had ordered him to work with. Now this…

Yes, he would do it. He would loathe it, he would detest himself for doing it, and he would despise everyone in a position superior to him for requiring him to perform this task, but he would do it.

Burying his face in his hands, he placed his back against the off-white wall and slowly sank to the floor, mumbling obscenities under his breath, not caring about the curious stares he received from the ebon-clad people that passed him by.

* * *

_Later That Day…_

* * *

Elsword snorted as he pulled his white mid-length sleeved shirt over him, before slipping on his casual black jacket with silver trimming. "Elsword! Hurry up!" Aisha whined from out in the hallway. The redhead smiled softly as he picked up an austere steel chain and fastened it around his neck, picturing the purplenette's expression as she waited outside his bedroom door. She was probably pouting, her arms crossed and her foot rapping impatiently against the floor as she paused in between paces. "I'm almost ready. Remember who's paying for the food!" He cried back, giving the chain a good tug, making sure it was secure. "You're such a girl Elsword!"

Elsword snickered, "Me? I'm a girl? You're the one who took an hour to get dressed! I just started fifty-five minutes after you started!" He could hear the purplenette's indignant huff. "Well!" She muttered. Elsword chuckled and took his time in walking towards the door and much to Aisha's annoyance, made a show of leisurely opening the bedroom door. "You!" She yelped and wrenched the doorknob from Elsword, slamming it against the wall with a resounding _thud_. "You should've gotten ready earlier!" Aisha snipped and folded her arms, her lips pressed together in a childish pout. The redhead smirked and leaned forward, ruffling Aisha's violet tresses. She was dressed in a short sleeveless plum satin dress, nicely complimenting the violet bow that decorated the back of her hair, which instead of being restrained into its usual style of a pair of haphazard twin tails, cascaded downwards, reaching the bottom of the space between her shoulder blades.

"You look nice," he complimented, deliberately changing the subject. Aisha flamed vividly and whipped her gaze away from Elsword. "I-idiot! Don't go changing the subject on me!" She stammered, praying feverishly that Elsword didn't see her blush. Elsword's mouth twitched as he struggled to not break out into a cheeky grin. "It's true," he replied guilelessly and took Aisha's hand in his own. "I see you're not wearing your pigtails," he added in a light teasing manner. Aisha blazed and exchanged a fleeting glance between Elsword and the rectangular mirror that hung on the wall. "I think I overdid it, I look like a damn doll now that I think about it." She muttered dourly.

Elsword rolled his eyes and let go of Aisha's slender hand. "You can't change now, no way am I letting you spend another hour to go back to your Goth loli style. Besides, you look beautiful in that outfit."

The purplenette buried her face in her hands to hide the dark blush which flushed her features. "D-don't do that!" Elsword held his hands up. "What?" Aisha held her head up and glared at Elsword. "St-stupid! Why-why are you ev-even taking me out for di-dinner anyways?!" She stuttered and pursed her lips. Elsword flexed his shoulders nonchalantly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Because I can?" He retorted rhetorically. The purplenette narrowed her eyes and stamped her foot against the ground in frustration. "It's not that! In the six months I was here, you've never taken me out before!"

Elsword flinched, hoping his reaction was unseen by Aisha. "Well, surprise! I am tonight! Besides, why are you complaining?" He snapped, sounding a good deal more churlish than he wished to come off as. Aisha grimaced and looked down at her wine-colored ballet flats. "Well… I think it's sort of awkward… I mean it's like a date and with this it's like we're-"

_Don't say it Aisha… don't make this harder than it has to be… don't make me regret suggesting this…_

"It's like we're a couple… I mean we lived together for so long and now you're taking me out to dinner? It's-"

"I just wanted to go out tonight. It doesn't mean anything, k?" Elsword snorted, abruptly cutting off Aisha's sentence. The purplenette huffed indignantly and spun away from the redhead. "Well! Why don't we just go on and eat?" She marched straight to the door, holding her chin up high with an aura of affronted dignity. "…" The redhead mumbled an incomprehensible phrase and stalked after Aisha, catching the door right before it could slam shut on Elsword's face.

* * *

Silver, electric-blue, and honeysuckle gold stars hung in an ink-black sky while the powdery, pock-marked face of the gibbous moon gazed serenely down on Aisha and Elsword as they sat together at a table outside, on the ivory-draped balcony overlooking the streets, twinkling with the wavering street lights. Braised beef, garlic mashed potatoes garnished with a sprig of parsley, steamed mixed vegetables were loaded on the porcelain plates, and bread so fresh, it steamed as it was broke was heaped into the wicker basket, but the two hardly touched their food. Both Elsword and Aisha were lost in thought, pondering on the things that haunted their conscience.

"That waiter sure was rude to you… ugh… how despicable that people would treat other people like that." Aisha spoke, breaking the humdrum buzzing of the people that gnawed at their hearing. Indeed the waiter treated the two detestably, shooting black looks at Elsword and outright asking him if he had caused any disasters with his one crimson eye, and treating Aisha in a condescending manner. The redhead had lost it and swore vehemently at the waiter, saying if he didn't stop his appalling conduct, he would indeed bring disaster. The waiter grew pallid and hastily apologized in a snide voice and gave the two a nice seat outdoors.

"Che… I'm used to it, in fact that was quite nice." Elsword replied offhandedly and picked at his food, mixing the carrots into the potatoes. Aisha balked at seeing Elsword mix his food, she could not wrap her head around the fact he actually did such a thing, it looked absolutely revolting. "Still… Is that why you never took me out before now? Because you were treated like dirt?" She queried and clasped her hands together, resting her elbows on the table. "One of them," he replied truthfully and set his fork down, taking a swig of water from the crystal glass. Aisha scrutinized Elsword with a critical expression. "What are the others?"

The redhead frowned and leaned back lazily in his chair, staring down at the pedestrians who cavorted merrily in the cobbled streets below them. "I was always busy with work… my job is not exactly a pleasant one. You've probably heard the rumors about Zero Squadron." Aisha pursed her lips into a contemplative frown and nodded her head. "I do know that the Zero Squadron is consisted of assassins and spies… but I don't see how that correlates with you taking me out." The redhead sighed and shoveled the carrot-potato mixture into his mouth, swallowing before answering.

"It has almost everything to do with that. People fear the Zero Squadron, they're often dubbed 'Reaper's Ravens' for they are clad in black and death follows its members, and wherever they go, there is guaranteed to be some numskull that gets into it with one of their members, creating an oftentimes bloody mess. I was relatively unknown just five months ago, but I played a major part in ending Raven's rebellion four months by publicly executing him. I'm especially hated for that. The middle and lower-class citizens hardly have any love for the Praetorian Guard and many were praying feverishly that Raven's rebellion would succeed, when I killed Raven I… well… killed their hopes. I never was treated kindly anyways, even before Raven's execution, I was always known as the creepy red-eyed child of ill omen and people scorned me just for that. I didn't want to expose you to that because I-" He clapped his hand over his mouth before he could blurt out _because I care for you_.

Aisha let out a soft _hnnn _and took a swig of cranberry cocktail from her crystal flute. "So why now?" She probed and set the finely-stemmed glass back down on the linen tablecloth. Elsowrd chortled mirthlessly and leaned back in his chair, gazing languorously at the starry heavens through a half-lidded crimson eye. "Well… I suppose I'm bribing you in a way." He admitted openly and ran his left hand through his mussed cerise bangs. Aisha tilted her head to the side, her eyes wide. "Oh? What do you have planned?"

Elsword diverted his glance sideways at the view of the plaza below them, casting it a black look before assuming a deadpan expression and averting his gaze back to the purplenette. "I have to take you to work…" Aisha jerked backwards, her amethyst eyes snapped open wide and her mouth fell open into a perfect "o" of surprise. "W-why?" She stammered, sounding alarmed. The corners of Elsword's lips twisted upwards in a bitter smile and he clasped his hands together.

"Uh… Eldork…? I realllly don't like that look on your face…" Aisha trailed apprehensively and wrung her hands together, fidgeting disconcertedly in her chair.

_Che… she has every right to be afraid but still… here I am convincing her to go willingly to her own death… _

"I don't know," Elsword lied and scratched behind his right ear. "He just asked me to bring you in." Aisha grimaced and chewed on a strand of hair. "I don't think it can be anything good…" The redhead flexed his shoulders and slumped down in his seat. "I know but please? It's my job after all." Aisha snorted and shook her head, but not in refusal. "Of course I'll go! I trust you Elsword! It's not like you're going to execute me or anything!" She exclaimed zealously and snatched a stick of bread from the wicker basket, tearing a sizeable hunk off with her teeth.

Elsword looked away, reflecting over the irony of Aisha's words, unable to keep the guilt off his face.

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The stars were splayed out in a hazy veil of shimmering light. The vivid colors of the butter-yellow jonquils and the mauve asters, silvery and muted under the platinum moonlight, shivering as the boreal-tinged hands of the night winds caressed them. A tristful sigh escaped from Ara as she stared at the moon with a far-off expression.

_Ara?_

The voice was rich and smoothing, surprisingly sonorous for a female's. The ebonette startled and her hand shot up to the back of her head where a stygian black hairpin with a gold and silver bauble, vaguely resembling a nine-tailed fox's tails nestled snugly in a braided black bun. _Eun? _She replied back timorously with her mind. The voice chuckled warmly.

_Yes, it's me. Who else could it be?_

Ara frowned and adjusted the sable mantle that was slung on her gracefully sculpted shoulders.

_I don't know… It's hardly a friendly time for the Darkborne…_

Eun heaved a gratuitously noisy sigh and Ara flinched as she felt the gentle pressure from Eun's conscience brush lightly against her own.

_It hasn't been in over 500 years Ara dear… That is why you are here, no? You hope to save the Darkborne from the Praetorian Guard's commitment to genocide. Those twittering fools! Always saying that the Dark Side is dangerous and yes it's true… If it's a bad host then yes… that is not good at all… But then again, who can blame the Dark Side for possessing the Earthborne and Lightborne when the Darkborne are constantly receiving the sharp end of the sword? _

The corners of the ebonette's lips twitched disconcertedly and she tugged on one of her billowing obsidian sleeves. _I know that Eun-_ she sounded exasperated_- But are you sure your vision is accurate? It can hardly be good for our cause if I die for a false mirage… I don't… I don't want to end up like Nii-San with a crucifix in my heart! That wretched crimsonette and her damn friend- that silver-haired bitch! _

A glistening tear trickled down Ara's cheek. Eun hummed soothingly and a strain of clinging chimes piped through the ebonette's mind. Ara breathed deeply as the palliative music conciliated her screaming nerves.

_Peace Ara… all is well that ends well… My visions have never failed me yet… we're safe._

"You're sure about that?" A glacial feminine voice drawled sardonically. Ara's eyes snapped open wide and she spun around, the tails of her exotic garb fluttering out behind her like the wings of a jittery butterfly. A lissome woman with alabaster tresses and citrine eyes, clad in a midnight-black armored dress accented with vivid shots of fuchsia hovered an inch above a patch of wild daisies. Four steel spears hovered behind her in a wing-like formation, glinting with death-white light in the moonlight.

A shriek of rage tore itself from Ara as she instantly identified the silverette. "You! You bitch!" She swore fervidly and stamped her foot against the ground in rage. The silverette cocked her head to the side inquisitively. "Bitch? That's hardly my name… Do you not know it?" She sang mordantly. Ara hissed and arched her back like a tomcat ready to lash out. "Who cares about your name? You killed my Nii-San with the help of the bitching crimson-haired pet pyromancer of yours!"

Eve narrowed her eyes and drifted closer to Ara, bending over slightly and staring at her dead in the eye. Remote topaz connecting with warm amber in a shower of sparks as the two sylphlike girls glowered at each other. "If my mind serves me accurately, you skewered Elesis with your spear after your brother's death in a fit of rage." Eve retorted, cold and leveled. Ara hissed malevolently and bared her teeth in a fierce smile. "She betrayed his trust! She led us to believe she was our friend and then she attempted to kill us!" She spat, spittle flying from her mouth and landing on the silverette's porcelain heart-shaped face.

Unblinking, Eve slowly wiped the spit away from her face with the back of her hand. "She did her duty…"

The ebonette sneered caustically, "And if you were listening in on my conversation with Eun using your powers closely enough, you would know I was just doing mine." Eve kept her deadpan expression but her tone was contemptuous and brittle. "You are creating chaos by saving those _vile_- those _abominable_-" She struggled for words to express her disdain. Ara jerked back, her mien virulent. "What did the_ Darkborne_ ever do to make you hate us so?" Eve smirked darkly and leaned back, "Absolutely nothing."

Ara's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "Wha- but why- why would you hate us so?" Eve laughed, a hollow bitter sound devoid of warmth and feeling. "Why? The Praetorian Guard tells me to do so. Their word is law and I enforce the law." Ara shot the silverette a supercilious look. "You're a pathetic marionette, all of you are. Elesis, that redhead who put down the rebellion, The Major of Zero Squadron, you, and… and Chung!" She added the last name with an anguished expression and a wrenching pain in her chest. "You people are pathetic dolls forever dancing to warped music, dangling from the strings wrapped around your limbs and neck!" Her face flushed a blotchy, beet-red and her voice was quavering, juddering with suppressed emotion. Eve raised her hand back before letting it fly forward, the back connecting with the ebonette's cheek and making her stumble backwards.

"…!" Eve glared at Ara, outraged by her temerity. "You shall not speak like that to me! Especially given your position!" She thundered, her voice pitched low to prevent her ire from showing. Ara sneered, "What do you mean 'given my position'? I have Eun, I have my powers, and I have a purpose which I fight all the fiercer to live for! I have my Nii-San's memory, I have my precious friends, I have bonds which I'm bound by! What do you have? You have your empty words, your hateful dreams, your emotionally dead comrades! You have a bleak future, you have your petty honor, and the hypocritical morals that the Praetorian Guard's propaganda instilled into you! In other words you have nothing!" The ebonette broke out into a maniacal chorus of delirious laughter, doubling over and clutching at her sides.

Eve gaped incredulously at her. "What a sad sorry woman driven by hate and despair…" Ara snickered, covering her mouth with one hand. "Me? Sad and hateful? I'll tell you what's sad and hateful! An organization which rewards someone for loving, trusting, and admiring them with a fucking stake in their Nii-San's heart! Put there by one of their closest friends! And guess what else? A government that turns the person someone loves against said person and having their love put a bullet through their leg!"

Eve glared, all fell silent, then…

There was a _vwish! _and a hot needle of pain prickled Ara's cheek, something warm dribbled downwards making Ara's peachy flesh sticky . Two gold-accented drones, one bone-white and the other an indistinct shadow in the darkness hovered around Eve, their sulfuric eyes beady and baleful. Ara tapered her eyes and held her hand out, the topaz adorning her black satin glove radiating an auburn light edged with obsidian. The air around her palm shimmered with golden sparkles and a brutally elegant war lance with an ornate spearhead set with a topaz cabochon.

The two women contemplated each other with choleric stares before they lunged at each other…

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**Heey… Does anyone remember how I once joked last chapter that I hoped this two-shot didn't become a three-shot? O3O Well… SURPRISE! IT DID! *Shot* I know… I ish too lazy to replicate my amazing feats of 7k long chapters and I don't feel like holding my fingers' funeral as of yet… Plus, when I first wrote this story, I didn't have any intentions of including Ara's backstory in here but then I was like… Hey! I just can't have Ara swooping in last minute and going all commando without giving her a past! (I do give my sincerest apologies to Aren who got killed in a way Buffy would be proud of and Elesis who became a shish kabob) Plus I wanted to do better with detail! I know this chapter was a little patchy in transitions, but other than that… I think I did pretty good! Next chapter contains lots of violence and blood so be forewarned! Don't say I didn't tell you so if Add rips someone's heart out and squeezes it! I might even write a prequel explaining all the terminology better. It would focus on Elesis's betrayal, Raven's rebellion, and how Elsword wound up with Aisha (And just how douche he was beforehand) if this three-shot can have twelve reviews by the time it's completed. That's not too much to ask for a prequel that's longer than the story that inspired it, no? /)OwO/) I don't know how this wound up exploding from one-shot to two-shot to three-shot. I guess this shit happens when you accidentally fall in love with a plotline involving your favorite pairing even if it only get 3 reviews? (I still love ya'll guys though!) **

**Next update should be the anticipated update to my current new-smash hit Ultima Thule (At least before it tanks and then gets like only two reviews lolol) I had to smoke a lot of Elweed to get the crack necessary for that chapter's idea! (Be expecting Add's Eve T-shirt, Lementa's ahoge of doom, and Voidia's aspirations to run the mob)**

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**Uhm… so yeah… Reviews are huggled and given a free kitten and espresso! De review box needs adopting! Won't you adopt it? QwQ ** **Here are the replies to my lovely reviewers!**

**RyotaEdge- Surprisingly, everyone chose that... lolol X3 Yes... Yes... YES! On so many levels! V-day... something wrong? X3**

**Rosamanelle- Really? Really? XD Poor Elsword... he better watch out for chu! Karma is always horrifically painful... Ara's not like that I don't think... And Aren's nickname is not that... Solaris will spill it when she arrives.**

**HikaNoHana- Nice to see you Hika! The feels! The feels! THE FEELZ! Happy tragedy (lolwut?) coming right up next chapter! Just fear for my definition of happy tragedy XDD**


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